


when you sleep (will it be with me?)

by Asian_Aaron_Samuels



Category: Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Canon Continuation, Character(s) of Color, Cultural Differences, Dating, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, First Dates, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Kissing, Mercedes has the potential to be great in a sequel, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Racism, Random Bits of Cantonese, Romance, Service Animals, Social Media, Which Will Probably Be Incorrect Because Google, and Chen was already perfection, and I took Italian sooooo, as in immigrant parents are racist, at least in my mind, because I'm a POC that's why, because this movie keeps playing on TV, but like in the way second generation kids know it, they need to be together if Sam L Jackson did a sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-05-29 16:03:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6383230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asian_Aaron_Samuels/pseuds/Asian_Aaron_Samuels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was him. It had to be him. That face, those tattoos, the muscles.</p><p>"Chen?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One foot in front of the other...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm the only person who seriously loved Snakes on a Plane, and now that I'm older and know what shipping is, I'm going to write a fluffy ass fanfic about Mercedes and Chen, aka the kickboxer with a heart of gold. 
> 
> Commence the shipping of Socialite Kickboxer/MerChen/Chencedes/otp: I can't, you can/otp: I'm gonna put you on my back.

_One foot in front of the other_  
_Keep breathing just like they taught you_

Mercedes tried, she really did, she wanted to go back to the life she had before Eddie Kim killed that prosecutor, before sweet Tommy got bit by the cobra, before Grace risked her life to save Maria's baby, before that uppity British prick threw Mary Kate to that giant snake, before they all thought Eddie Kim would get away with everything when they saw Sean fall down the slide.

Her mom signed her up for spin classes at the same gym Charlize Theron goes to, she hasn't spotted her once.

The gang planned a trip to Malibu to celebrate living long and prospering, she told them she couldn't go because her sister might be pregnant. With George Clooney's baby.

Her baby brother planned a Harbont sibling TV binge, watching the trials and tribulations of Kevin Arnold didn't make her smile like it used to.

Tyler Earle, an ex from a different time, called her and asked if she wanted to have lunch, salad never tasted more stale in her life.

Routines were comforting but nothing old or new made her feel anything. Mercedes was stuck in cruise control and she couldn't even appreciate the scenery. Even now when she sat at an event hosted by her parents, she couldn't shake the feeling that none of it was real. Every time she looked at someone their faces warped into one she had only seen once months ago, either discoloured and ugly or frightened and unforgettable. After the third time she projected Paul the British Prick's face onto an older gentleman's face, Mercedes excused herself from her family's table.

The blonde ran to the limo she hired for the evening, Bruno sat beside it smoking quietly.

"Can we go, like right now?"

Bruno jumped to his feet, his cigarette dropping from his mouth only to get kicked into a puddle.

"Of course, Miss Harbont," he rushed to open her door, "where to?"

"LAX," she replied while grabbing handfuls of her chiffon dress to avoid getting it wet.

"LAX? You're going on a trip?"

"Can you please not ask questions? My family will notice I've gone AWOL any minute, I'll tip you twice as much."

That got the driver to shut up, not that he was a chatty person when it came to his clientele. He had been driving the socialite around long enough to know her requests and how best to execute them. Bruno closed the door with care after making sure not a millimeter of fabric would get caught in the door then proceeded to drive away from the lavish party.

It was almost ten at night by the time Bruno rolled up to the drop off curb, angry Californians and the like honking at him for taking up so much space. He resisted the urge to give them the finger and did his job. Before he could even get a foot out Mercedes was pushing her fare--exact change--through the opened partition and jetting out with a tail of green following behind her.

"I'LL CALL YOU WHEN I'M READY!" she shouted as she barreled past confused red eye flyers.

"What a strange woman," Bruno mumbled while shutting her door and figuring out where to hide out until she was done doing.. whatever she was going to do.

\----------

Mercedes bought a one way ticket to Bob Hope airport with her credit card, went through TSA with little difficulty and heavy scrutiny, ignored the calls and text messages she was getting from **everyone** , and just walked around. It was her escape from the life of Mercedes Harbont. She did it just by chance a few weeks after she came home, an attempt to meet up with her friends for that beach weekend. She was two hours early for her flight and ended up walking past all the gates watching the planes depart and land hours after her own flight left. There was something therapeutic about seeing all the Southwest planes and American Airlines go to and fro. These planes would safely make it to their destination and they would arrive with everyone alive and well. Eddie Kim got the lethal injection and the FBI knew now that snakes are cold blooded.

She stuck out more than usual in her floor length gown, people didn't pay her any mind and security wrote her off as a weirdo. Her sitting next to the giant window overlooking a Boeing en route to JFK eating a cheese danish made her look like one of the art statement pieces decorating the facility. The gate Mercedes ended up sitting near was in the process of releasing the passengers, and not from the emergency slide. A wave of calm settled over her seeing men mid business call moving in quick strides to baggage claim, parents carrying sleepy children in one arm and two carry ons in the other, stone faced teens with headphones in place possibly listening to Three G's latest single--Ain't Ice or Venom (in My Veins)--and walking with a lazy sort of ease to their families tired and excited to see them… and then she froze for the briefest of seconds before jumping to her feet as quickly as possible. Mercedes abandoned her heels and half eaten pastry to get closer to the moving crowd.

It was him. It had to be him. That face, those tattoos, the _muscles_.

"Chen?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, honesty hour, it's 4:09 AM here so it's unofficial honesty hour! What do you think? Can we make a fandom for this? Will I be a pioneer for this franchise in the fanfiction world? Is this fic even worth posting? Am I just hoping that one day I'll get a fanbase and people will check this out on a whim? I'm hoping yes for all of these but time will tell and I need to brush my teeth and go to bed so I can work on some other fics. Also, you can bet your fucking asses that if I were ever in a situation where snakes were on a fucking plane that I would A) not throw a poor puppy to the snakes because fuck you that's why B) would help everyone like bby Chen C) probably be barefoot running away from the snakes because typically I wear flip flops/flats and I take off my shoes once we get up in the air and D) would be the one to get away first because I'm small and I don't wear my seatbelt because I'm a rebel and the flight attendants never catch me. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading this fanfic! Stay tuned for some more lovely fics, I am taking requests and prompts and if you need to know what fandoms or OTPs I'm into, just ask. Or look at the blogs I follow because I follow Imagines blogs catered specifically for individual fandoms. So long and farewell!
> 
> All my love,  
> Robin~


	2. You politely asked to take a walk with me...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Rupaul voice* Hello hello hello, ladies (and gentlemen). If you're returning for this chapter, wow. And thanks!

_You politely asked to take a walk with me  
_ _I would've married you there underneath the trees_

They meet the next day at a quant little restaurant Mercedes's friend Angelica swears has the greatest brunch menu. Although Mercedes wouldn't know, she's sipping a mimosa and staring at the man who saved her life take a swig of a Corona with lime.

He looks good, truly. The last time she had seen him his inky black hair was matted to his forehead and his eyes were dark with focus. Chen didn't go to the trial, he didn't torture himself by sitting in that cold courtroom and having Eddie Kim leer in his direction like she did. For the last few months anytime she pictured this man he was perspiring heavily and wearing a black beater. And now, now she could carry the image of the kickboxer in a moss green Henley and combat boots, head shaved at the sides and the top portion gelled in long, obsidian waves.

Chen breaks the silence and Mercedes adores him all the more for it. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh, you know," she smiles while wondering if he keeps up with socialite news, "Fancy dinners, girls night outs, spending time with my family. Just normal Mercedes Harbont stuff."

"That's good," he returns the gesture though marginally smaller.

"And what about you? Been showing the ladies of LA your battle scars?"

"No, I've been working towards getting my life back to normal. My boss is this older man and he associated what happened with--you know--with maternity leave, so I have been on paid leave ever since. I think he believes I'm suffering from PTSD."

Mercedes eyebrows rose, "Really?"

"Yeah, that's why I was out of town. Went to the Arnold Sports Festival."

"That sounds like fun," the blonde commented.

"It was an experience. The wife of one of my students entered the women's bodybuilding competition. They invited me out there to cheer her on."

"Well tell me about it." 

The dark haired man spent the next few minutes telling Mercedes about all the chiseled fitness enthusiasts he met. About weightlifting and how there was an event for baton twirling. The younger of the pair soaked up each bit of information like a sponge. She was never one for competition nor athletic functions, but for Chen she'd make an exception. As it turned out, he was an excellent storyteller and made HGH treatment sound fascinating to her.

The Chinese man frowned after finishing his story, "I'm sorry, I've talked this whole time."

"No! No, I liked hearing you talk." A hesitant smile graced her face, "It's nice talking to you about something besides snakes and looming danger."

"Agreed, but I can't let this conversation stay one sided. What're you watching on TV?"

She finds the change of topic odd but refreshing. When was the last time Nicole Richie asked her what she watched?

"Umm, I don't watch a lot of current shows to be honest. If I'm home, I'm putting on a DVD or rewatching Friends."

"I can see that."

"See what?"

"You coming home from an exhausting day of being _popular_ (she giggles each time he brings up her lifestyle), changing into a silk pajama set and putting on Friends and drinking Zinfandel from a wine glass."

"Well that's where you're wrong, I drink white wine," she teased.

"White wine, Friends, I'm learning more and more about you." 

"We can't all drink lagers."

The man took a pointed drink from his Corona, "You're missing out."

Mercedes opened her mouth to tell him she was a young, Caucasian woman from a rich family and she practically came out the womb holding a bottle of Rosé when the fighter's phone started to go off. The sound made Chen almost pout as he let out a heavy sigh and scratched his head. Whether the alerting sound was a phone call or an alarm, Mercedes didn't know, nor did she think it was appropriate to inquire.

"I need to go, I have a few errands to run.."

"Oh," the socialite hates that she wasn't able to mask the disappointment in her tone.

They flag their waitress down and go Dutch on the check.

"Look," he stands up from their table and his companion is gifted with the sight of hard, tanned flesh from where his shirt doesn't quite meet his pants. "We should get dinner sometime."

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, I'd love to take you out. There's actually this Korean barbecue place I've been meaning to go to, but those places are more of a social venue. If you'd prefer-"

"Oh no! I've never had Korean barbecue, so going with you sounds like a fun evening!" 

He puts his hand on her shoulder and she feels the warmth in his touch. For a moment she's lost in the sensation, teleported to an airport not too far away where she feels relaxed and free.

"I'll text you the address. Take care."

"You too!" Mercedes does her best to control the heat that seeps into her cheeks, her skin's so fair he must notice. She prays he'll think it's the two mimosas she had.

The blonde stands up, removing her purse from the back of her chair and dislodging Chen's hand in her haste to get ready to leave. Together, the pair travel to the door without talking.

"Can I ask you something?" Mercedes blurts out.

"Anything," he replies with ease.

"Earlier you said that your boss thinks you have PTSD."

"Okay."

"Do you?" 

Chen paused mid stride, "It's.. not something we've considered."

"What does-"

"I'll see you at So What, six o'clock," he interrupted with a tight lipped smile.

"So What, six o'clock," she repeated and a foreign feeling blooms in her chest at their goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my birdies! I'm so sorry for the l o n g awaited update. I just kind of lost steam and I'm juggling a lot of personal shit. A lot's changed about me in a year, lots of ups and downs. 
> 
> Anyways, you didn't come here to listen to me lament. I hope you enjoyed this and are anticipating Chen and Mercedes first unofficial date! Peace, love, and bravery.
> 
> All my love,  
> Robin~


End file.
